Thank God Its Friday

[TGIF] Valley of Lifelines

We hope you enjoy the last beautiful days of 2018 as well as the last beautiful releases. Like these.

Valley of Lifelines TGIF

Thank God It’s… the weekend! And with the year almost coming to an end we want to prove to you why the best of the year lists should only be elaborated after the 1st of January.  In this selection of great new releases, we have an eclectic group of songs that are sure to fit any alternative taste. So this is to all of you. We hope you enjoy the last beautiful days of 2018. 

Matchstick Skeletons – Told Ya So

With an incredible groove and soul, the Vancouver-based duo is here to stay. Told Ya So came out last August 13th and this is a video of their hometown concert. Showing an electrifying and unstoppable energy, The Matchstick Skeletons navigate their rhythm between  TheBlack Keys and The White Stripes, with a little taste of Rage Against the Machine.

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Neu Mannas presents us with his charismatic and very versatile vocals, going from raw-blues to hard-rock screamo. The way he and Matty Carolei, drummer, change completely the rhythm and the flow of the song to suddenly turn it into an even more energetic song, is great. The song is dynamic and raw and mature at the same time.

We’re pretty surethis is one of those bands that will be making history in only a couple of years.

ON/OFF/ON – Lifelines

One of the things that we love the most is duos who perfectly combine female and male vocals, and although ON/OFF/ON is not a duo, in Lifelines Henry Milne invites Lydia Evangeline who borrows her vocals right on the beginning of the song. Both engaged perfectly –and by perfectly we really mean perfection– with harmonies sounding so purely and the instrumental reminding a lot of Bon Iver’s self-titled album compositions, such as Beth/Rest. The newest track Lifelines, second release of the producer, is a love song and who doesn’t like 80’s revivals love songs? “My heart’s still beating somehow” ends the chorus, the same sentence that we keep saying after listen this song for the first time for being such a beautiful song. By the way, the chorus is highly addicted.

KIN – Daisy Chain

Transporting us to a parallel dimension, KIN creates a fantastic and mystic environment in Daisy Chain, taking advantage of a very complete instrumental set, from profound brass to an engaged drum set and a Fleet Foxes and Sigur Rós choir-harmonies style. Once again, this is another track highly inspired by Bon Iver’s compositions, this time Daisy Chain’s intro refers to For Emma For Ever Ago’s Flume. The whole track is a huge mix of inspirations as sonorities from Efterklang may be heard sometimes, but that’s not bad at all, it shows that the KIN is going in the right direction and actually sound like one of those big mentioned bands.

Meg Blumberg – Wading

Picture yourself by the fireplace, in a wintery day, melancholic afternoon as the rain hits the window. A woman, Meg Blumberg, sits by the piano a plays you the most beautiful piece you’ll hear today. That piece is Wading, an instrumental song composed for piano, violin and cello; the track begins with some outdoor sounds whose remain during the rest of the song. The composition reminds a lot of a Musette’s one, not only because of the melody or the arrangement, but also because of the way it’s played, paused and with some cinematic sound-alike effects. At age 26, Meg sounds like a mature and experienced composer, and that isn’t for nothing: she’s playing since she’s 8 years-old, starting composing during her early teenage. Wading is a breathtaking piece, smooth and visceral as it touches our deep soul and heart. Being the first single of her upcoming EP, this is one of those songs we will always return, every time we need some warm and comforting moment.

Michele Blades – Kiss Me On the Mouth

If by now you haven’t watched Michele Blades performance for La Blogothèque we’ll give you a moment to go and do that now (just press here). Ok, now we are on the same page, Michele released 10 days ago Kiss Me on the Mouth another complex but gorgeously built song that focuses itself on indie rock with continued similarities with Feist or Eleanor Friedberger but also with more psychedelic bits and wonders. Unpredictable might be the best way to describe it. But only on and very complementary way. Intense, everything-but-linear and with great vocals. The Mexican-Panamanian artist can sounds as electric and peaceful as she looks.

Nick Shattuck – The Valley

About Nick Shattuck we said earlier how much we feel engaged and into his vocals “roughness and hoarseness” and how he works those “guitar-based progression so naturally”. And if Cliffside opened our ears to Nick Shattuck, The Valley confirms how a new artist can easily make us feel complete. Don’t take us wrong, The Valley is not a masterpiece of a song, but it doesn’t need to be. This is a track that engages with us and that builds up its flow until it reaches its nirvana almost at the end. And Nick Shattuck engaging vocals sounds like a nice Sunday morning relaxing with a glass of whiskey and watching our soul smiling. 

Have a very nice end of year you guys.

Cheers!

WtMM team.

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